US detainees remain at risk as they are transferred to Iraqi custody

Amnesty International, 22 July 2009

Call on the US not to transfer detainees at risk to Iraqi custody

Hundreds of detainees held by the US military in Iraq are being put at risk of execution, torture or other ill treatment as they are transferred to Iraqi custody under an agreement made without safeguards.

The detainees are being transferred under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), signed by former President George W Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, which came into force on 1 January 2009. Under the agreement, US troops will withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011.

Some detainees in US custody have been sentenced to death after unfair trials and are likely to be executed if they are handed over to the Iraqi authorities.

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Tags: Amnesty International, death penalty, Iraq, Iraqi detainees, torture, US military in Iraq, US-led Multinational Force